Curiosity winner's godhood in Godus comes with a term limit

Although players had been tapping away at Peter Molyneux's giant Curiosity cube for six months, it wasn't until Monday that we finally learned what was inside: ascendance to godhood in the upcoming game Godus . Today, via RPS , we learn that even gods can be dethroned. Though the exact term limit hasn't been decided, Molyneux says that it could last for several months or more than a year.

The lucky deity in question is Bryan Henderson from Edinburgh , and his prize will be to take part in the creation and running of the game with developer 22Cans —and also to share in a cut of the profits.

“[W]hat Bryan has won is a grace period where he can be god of gods for a certain amount of time,” Molyneux said. “It won't be less than a few months. It might not be more than a year. And then we'll unveil the ability to usurp the god of gods and replace him with someone else.”

Though this expiration date might make the prize less “life changing” for Bryan than promised, I think this is actually a brilliant way to allay the risk involved in elevating some random person to power in a game that needs to be commercially successful.

The race to become god will also keep the player base interested. If Bryan was a permanent god, his divine edicts and powers could become stale over time. With ultimate power (and, presumably, a cut of the game's ongoing profits) on the line, player competition to become the new supreme ruler will be fierce —and the resulting changes in higher authority could reinvigorate the game long after launch.